First of all, the location of the Korean capital has not changed, and the plan to move the capital has been rejected. Secondly, Seoul, written and addressed in Korean, remains the same, except that people in South China and the world no longer call it "Seoul". In other words, this is a one-sided notice to China people.
Mayor Lee Myung-bak listed three reasons why the South Korean capital should no longer be called "Seoul".
First, most countries in the world call the South Korean capital according to the pronunciation of the English signs of Seoul, while China people call "Seoul" according to its ancient name. Second, Seoul has been renamed for a hundred years, and China people still call it Seoul, which is not in line with international practice. Third, exchanges between South Korea and China are becoming more and more frequent. Seoul and Seoul have different pronunciations and meanings, which brings "great confusion". For example, there are two universities in South China, one is Seoul National University and the other is Seoul National University. Southerners call it Seoul National University, which causes communication confusion.
Allergic to Korea?
Seoul authorities established the "Seoul Chinese New Label Committee" in June+10 last year, and originally planned to select a brand-new Chinese name with similar pronunciation and good meaning within half a year. Unexpectedly, after the results of the primary election were announced in June, the new name sank into the sea. It was not until June 65438+ 10 this year that Seoul was officially announced to replace Seoul.
Mayor Lee Myung-bak said that the pronunciation of "Seoul" is close to the actual pronunciation of Seoul in Korean, meaning "the first city". I believe that China people will be familiar with this new name soon.
South Korea's place names are decided by Koreans, which is a natural thing, not to mention the capital, which is purely a "housework" for Koreans. Of course, foreigners cannot be questioned and must be respected. However, people who are familiar with China-ROK relations, especially the unique national character of South Korea, will not make such a simple explanation.
First of all, Seoul is the capital, but the mayor is elected by the people. Can the mayor announce on behalf of the central government that "Seoul cannot be called Seoul in Chinese"? Secondly, China people can freely translate foreign place names and even country names, except for transliteration, such as Munich, San Francisco, Honolulu, Cambridge, Oxford, etc., which has both historical background and established factors. In any case, it is suspected of interfering in the internal affairs of culture to stipulate how China people can express themselves in Chinese.
Third, the name "Seoul" was not created by China people, but decided by Li Chenggui, the founding emperor of the Korean dynasty. According to historical records, Li Chenggui moved its capital to Hanyang from Jing Kai (now Kaesong) on 1394, and was officially named "Seoul" from then on.
The Korean Peninsula has absorbed Korean culture and used China Chinese characters for more than 2,000 years. Even though Wang Shizong, the fourth generation country of the Korean dynasty, founded the Korean-style phonetic symbol "Korean Proverbs" (also known as Korean) in 1443, including the rise of proverbs that completely rejected Chinese characters after the war, its language and cultural policies have been swinging from side to side. Seoul is not Seoul, no wonder some people suspect that they are also allergic to the word "Han". However, the cancellation of "Seoul" and the "Han River" flowing day and night from its heart area are not unreasonable.
From a historical point of view, some people think that every time Seoul changes its name, it is almost directly or indirectly related to the national mentality of Koreans. 1394, the Lee Dynasty established its capital here and changed its name to Seoul. Pronunciation is Korean training to read Han Song. 19 10, the Korean peninsula became a Japanese colony, and Japan renamed it "capital" and pronounced it Keijo. 1945, the Korean peninsula was liberated, and the Republic of Korea made Seoul its capital. Although it is called the "capital", it doesn't write Chinese characters, but only uses Korean spelling, so Seoul becomes the only city on the Korean peninsula without Chinese characters.
Respect the decision of Seoul authorities
In the past, Chinese people all over the world have always called Seoul, the capital of South Korea, which is a long-standing practice. Secondly, according to the official Chinese information released by South Korea, they thought its official name was "Seoul". The so-called "Seoul stopped screaming a hundred years ago" is obviously an exaggeration. Of course, we should respect the decision of Seoul authorities and call Seoul "Seoul" from now on.
However, "Seoul" is a newly created Chinese translation. From the cultural history of Korea to the environmental reality of the peninsula, all place names and names are still named after Chinese characters. Even if North Korea and South Korea don't continue to use Chinese characters in their daily lives, Kim Jong Il, Roh Moo-hyun, park chung-hee, etc. Can restore their Chinese names. What was the first Chinese character in Seoul? Why avoid talking about it, and put the blame of "wrong" calling "Seoul" entirely on China or the Chinese in the world? This is one of my puzzles.
Furthermore, the Korean pronunciation of "Capital" was originally Sieur, but it was translated into English and became Seoul, but there is no limit to one transliteration method. There is a heated debate about what it is. Mayor Lee Myung-bak said that "Seoul" was translated from Seoul's English. The problem seems to be at the other extreme, that is, too much emphasis is placed on English translation and the original Korean language is ignored. According to Mayor Lee Myung-bak's English translation standard theory, some people even argue that the Chinese symbol of "Korea" should be written as "Korea" because the standard English translation is Korea.